State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to establish an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City, Gujarat. This will be BoM’s first international branch, allowing the bank to conduct offshore banking operations from India. The development is seen as a significant opportunity for the bank to expand its operations across geographies and provide specialized banking services to its customers.
The GIFT City, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is India’s first IFSC, aimed at transforming the country’s financial ecosystem by providing world-class banking services locally and reducing reliance on offshore financial hubs. The centre has also become a hub for fintech innovation, global investments, and job creation, attracting institutions from the banking, education, and technology sectors.
The IFSC Banking Unit will provide access to international financial markets, enabling BoM to deliver a range of products to clients with foreign currency funding requirements, including External Commercial Borrowings. The bank will also be able to meet the funding needs of overseas entities, including joint ventures or subsidiaries of its domestic clients, further strengthening its capabilities and capacity to serve Indian clients. Additionally, the bank will be able to participate in global syndications, making it a more competitive global player.
Nidhu Saxena, MD & CEO of BoM, sees this development as a significant milestone in the bank’s growth story, stating that it will expand the bank’s operations across geographies and provide specialized banking services to customers. The opening of the IBU in GIFT City will enable the bank to take its international banking business to the next level and leverage the centre’s infrastructure and expertise to serve its clients more effectively.